UCF rallies to beat USF, delivering dramatic 23-20 win over Bulls

During a season of miracle wins and heart-stopping finishes, the 19th-ranked Knights added yet another how-did-they-do-it moment to the list. Trailing by four with less than six minutes left in the fourth quarter, UCF manufactured one more come-from-behind win.

Junior quarterback Blake Bortles hit wide receiver Breshad Perriman on a 52-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline with 4:50 remaining in the game to lift the Knights to a 23-20 win over rival USF. A Jordan Ozerities interception sealed the improbable victory.

"We come out here and work and we never give up," Knights' center Joey Grant said. "Any team could easily throw in the towel and say, 'Hey, it was a good season.' But we keep fighting. Of course you feel fortunate, but we're making the plays happen."

With the win, UCF is one step closer to a conference title and a Bowl Championship Series berth. The team also scored its first victory over rival USF in school history.

"It's a win," UCF coach George O'Leary said. "You congratulate them on the win, enjoy the win, but obviously disappointed in the way we performed."

The Knights (10-1, 7-0 American Athletic Conference) had tried all night to give the game away. And for most of the contest, it looked like they would succeed.

UCF had five turnovers on the night, including three on its first four drives and another late in the fourth quarter as it tried to put together a comeback. The Knights had struggled to find any answers to USF's defense.

And yet, after Bulls' kicker Marvin Kloss missed a long field goal wide right with about five minutes remaining, UCF had a chance to pull off a victory. Three plays later, Perriman used a double move to get free down the sideline, and Bortles' pass floated perfectly into the sophomore's arms for a touchdown that ignited the sellout crowd of 45,952 at Bright House Networks Stadium.

USF (2-9, 2-5) drove down the field to try to answer back, but cornerback Ozerities' interception with 1:30 remaining in the fourth quarter sealed the Knights' victory.

Add it to the list of UCF jaw-dropping wins.

"I just look up in the sky, somebody is up there watching over us," O'Leary said. "The big thing is that luck is when preparation meets opportunity, the old saying, and I think that's a lot of [what is] happening right now."

USF made a strong run at the upset.

The Knights had somehow maneuvered between an avalanche of errors in the first half to hold a one-touchdown lead. But a USF offense that ranked near the bottom of the nation battled back.

The Bulls took a 20-16 lead at the start of the fourth quarter after marching 77 yards down the field. UCF did not seem to have an answer. It felt like a carry-over from a first-half that had allowed USF to stick around the game.

UCF could not have gotten off to a worse start in the contest.

The Knights, who entered the game plus-10 in turnover ratio, coughed the ball up three times early. Starting running back Storm Johnson gave up two fumbles, and Bortles was picked off on a deflected pass attempt.

Johnson's second fumble came at the USF 10-yard line occurred with no defender near him. The junior rushed over the left end and looked like he had a clear path to the end zone, but Knights center Joey Grant turned toward his running back and accidentally knocked the ball loose.

USF went backward on its next drive, losing 11 yards and punting from inside its one-yard line. UCF took over on the Bulls' 25-yard line and eventually tied the game with a 27-yard field goal from Shawn Moffitt. On UCF's next drive, however, Bortles looked to the left sideline on a pass only to see the ball deflected right into the arms of USF defensive back Lamar Robbins.

The Knights were saved on that turnover by their defense.

USF drove inside the UCF 10-yard line, but opted to go for it on fourth-and-2. The result was a fumbled snap, and the Knights trailed just 6-3 despite their inability to hold on to the football.

With the Knights still in the game, the offense started to find its footing later in the half, mostly behind running back Will Stanback. Stanback's work set up an eight-yard touchdown pass from Bortles to tight end Justin Tukes.

"You can't really think negative," Tukes said of recovering from those mistakes. "You've got to come in keep being positive, keep being positive, next play, next play. ... Hopefully somebody will make a play."

With the win, UCF clinched a share of the American conference title and keeps pushing toward its BCS dream.